Mid-year review: Five Indian packaging giants pivot to sustainability

Driven by stringent circular economy mandates and evolving global demand, five Indian industry leaders are responding with aggressive capital expenditure programmes, focussing on geographical diversification and integrating recycled content.

The sector is reconfiguring as manufacturers move beyond volume manufacturing toward specialty chemicals, sustainable resins and proprietary technologies. 

Chiripal Poly Films: Circular transition

Chiripal Poly Films (CPFL) is transitioning from a traditional manufacturer to a more integrated, circular player. A cornerstone of this strategy is its partnership with Boretech, which has launched a PET bottle-to-bottle recycling project in Jammu. This facility is capable of producing 16,000 tonnes per year of food-grade rPET pellets.

With annual virgin PET resin production scaled to approximately 1.5 lakh tonnes, CPFL operates multi-locational plants across Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Jammu. The company is now evaluating further expansions for both virgin PET resin and rPET capacity, a move largely dictated by the Indian government’s evolving mandate for recycled content in packaging. As these five entities continue to invest in specialised technologies and recycling infrastructure, the Indian packaging sector is setting a new benchmark for global sustainability standards.

Cosmo First: Diversification beyond film

Cosmo First has spearheaded this strategic shift by aggressively broadening its revenue base beyond traditional film manufacturing. Its recent focus on specialty chemicals and consumer-facing businesses signals a desire to mitigate cyclical commodity risks.

The company’s commitment to capacity is evident in its commissioning of a new BOPP film line at its Aurangabad plant, an investment exceeding INR 400 crore that boosts annual capacity by 40% to 277,000 MT per annum. Simultaneously, it has initiated a new specialty films facility at Auric City, Bidkin. In a push to enhance serviceability and reduce lead times to 10–15 days, Cosmo Films USA has installed a high-speed, 120-inch wide slitter rewinder in Chicago. Product innovation remains a cornerstone, with the recent launch of the Coseal-601 heat seal coating solution and specialised high-performance films tailored for the pet food industry.

Jindal Poly Films: Resilience and modernisation

Jindal Poly Films (JPFL) is undergoing a recovery phase following operational setbacks. After a fire in May 2025 disrupted 70% of its Nashik capacity, the firm launched a INR 700+ crore capital expenditure program to restore its footing. This involves the establishment of new production lines, including a 42,000-tonne BOPP line and a 55,000-tonne PET film line.

JPFL is also doubling down on high-value segments, investing INR 250 crore to double its capacitor film business by late 2025. This move leverages specialised machinery for advanced surface roughness modification. Furthermore, the company is aggressively shifting its portfolio toward recyclable mono-material PP films, such as the Bicor 25/30 MBH568, specifically to align with increasingly strict PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation) compliance and to replace complex multi-layer laminates.

Polyplex: High-margin specialisation

Polyplex continues to leverage its global factory base to focus on specialised, high-margin, and sustainable film products. Its North American strategy has been bolstered by the commissioning of a 50,000 MTPA BOPET line in Decatur, USA.

Sustainability remains central to its operations; through its EcoBlue subsidiary in Thailand, Polyplex processes film waste and label liners into high-quality rPET and rPP resins. The company has also integrated solar power across its plants in India, Thailand, Turkey, and Indonesia. Strategically, Polyplex has moved into digital print media by acquiring a 51% controlling stake in TechNova Printrite Products for INR 62.11 crore, aiming to utilise its proprietary D-PAC (Differentiated Product, Application, and Customer) strategy to drive further EBITDA growth.

UFlex: Global scale and recycling integration

UFlex is executing a global expansion strategy, balancing domestic infrastructure upgrades with international greenfield projects. The company’s investment portfolio includes a USD 126 million aseptic packaging facility in Egypt (capable of producing 12 billion packs annually) and a USD 50 million woven polypropylene (WPP) bag manufacturing plant in Mexico.

Domestically, UFlex is investing over INR 700 crore in a new 54,000 MTPA BOPP line at its Dharwad facility in Karnataka, alongside a doubling of aseptic packaging capacity at its Sanand, Gujarat plant. Crucially, the company is positioning itself as a sustainability leader through an INR 317 crore investment in two recycling plants in Noida, focussing on PCR PET chips and multi-layer plastic (MLP) recycling. Its "single-pellet solution," which integrates recycled and virgin PET, is designed to assist brands with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) compliance, complemented by the proprietary "Ceruflex 500" high-speed gravure printing machine.